Tag Archives: Cultural Revolution

This polemic against the political line and practice of the ‘Gang of Four’ (Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen) during the Cultural Revolution in China is from Class Struggle (Winter, 1976-77, #6), the theoretical journal of the October League / Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist). It represents the line of Hua Guofeng, who followed Mao Zedong as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China. The document isn’t perfect, and is itself somewhat ultra-left, but it is being posted here to help look at some of the political problems of the Cultural Revolution in China:

‘Grasping Revolution, Promoting Production’
An exposure of the ‘Gang of Four’ and their attempt to restore capitalism in China

The following article, written by Jen Ping, first appeared in the Nov. 14, 1976 issue of People’s Daily, organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Entitled “A Gang of Vermin Noxious to the Country and the People,” it deals with one of the major questions distinguishing Marxism-Leninism from revisionism, the so-called “theory of productive forces.” It exposes how the “gang of four,” the anti-party clique headed by Wang Hung-wen, Chiang Ching, Chang Chun-chiao and Yao Wen-yuan, distorted a correct understanding of this question so as to further their plot to seize power and restore capitalism in China.

The Marxist-Leninist has previously posted music by FARC-EP musician Julian Conrado. These songs and poems are by Jaime Nevado.

“The FARC-EP guerrilleros play, sing, write poetry and books, tell stories, put on plays and paint, etc. The most sensitive men and women, reflecting the reality around us, transform our culture into an orally and visually attractive form, nourishing the patriotic and revolutionary sentiment of thousands of fighters, their friends and thousands of people who today listen to the songs, read books, recite poetry and watch films made by the guerrilleros … Culture occupies a very large space and plays an important role in the life of each guerrillero in the FARC-EP … There is a cultural hour from 7 to 8 p.m. in all guerrilla camps, when the public order situation permits. In this hour there may be a book reading, a lecture, the reading of a poem, singing, or a fiesta to dance the current rhythms and compositions of the guerrilleros. This is a space created so that culture is present in the struggle of our people.”

“Revolutionary culture is present and is nurtured by the people. It is the expression of rebellion charged with social content that has flourished in spite of everything throughout our history – in spite of the massacres, the bullets and the negation with which they think they can silence the voice of the people.”

Maxim Gorky’s ‘Mother’ — a summary

By Kazim Aizaz Alam

Maxim Gorky with J.V. Stalin in 1931

“Mothers are hardly ever pitied,” wrote Maxim Gorky (1868-1936) in his landmark novel Mother around 100 years ago. The novel is about the pre-revolution proletariat of Russia and focuses on the role women played in the struggle of the Russian working class on the eve of the revolution of 1905. Maxim Gorky, who was persecuted by the tsarist government and forced to live abroad for his ties with the Bolshevik Party, was moved by the brutal social and economic disparity that existed in Russian society during the tsarist government.

This is a music video of Jose Maria Sison’s lyric poem, “The Guerrilla is Like a Poet”. In the video it switches form English to Tagalog halfway through. You can also hear Sison himself sing the poem by clicking here. The words of the poem are in English in full below.

Towards a Better Future – Kanafani and the Culture of Resistance

by Dr. Ahmed Masoud

In 1977 a local theatrical group in Nazareth was banned from performing an adaptation of Ghassan Kanfani’s novel Men in the Sun (1962). The Israeli authority prevented the actors from going on stage and threatened imprisonment. The script was written by a Palestinian writer who was assassinated in a car bomb by Israeli agents in Lebanon in 1972. It is not surprising for governments to censor literature if it does not comply with its propaganda, but assassination is something which needs more careful examination. Why would the Israeli government feel threatened to go as far as killing Ghassan Kanafani? In order to find the answer for this question, one must look at not only the life and works of this writer but also delve deep into his mindset and how his writing has become a manifesto of the new Palestinian revolution. Continue reading →

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“Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” – Bertolt Brecht

As of this May, La Chinoise (1967), Jean-Luc Godard’s classic film about the Maoist movement in France (based on Dostoevsky’s book, The Devils), is now available on DVD! I just finished watching it for the first time, and I’d like to share a few initial thoughts, which, because of the film’s freshness in my mind, are not very systematic.

First, I’d seen two of Godard’s movies before: Breathless (1960), which I didn’t care for, and Le Petit Soldat (also from 1960), which I enjoyed. So I wasn’t sure what to expect, aside from a general idea that this was a somewhat experimental film about Maoism. Godard himself identified as a Maoist, and along with Jean-Paul Sartre, was gravitating around the Gauche Prolétarienne (GP). Additionally, this film had a big impact on French Maoism after the events of May 1968. It is characteristic of the ultraleft, however, in that it is fairly light on the Mass Line – “from the masses, to the masses” and all that. Continue reading →